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Space

Submission + - Alien Planet Detected (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by sridharo
sridharo writes: Astronomers have discovered an alien planet circling a dying star.
There's every reason to believe that planets are really quite widespread throughout the Universe. This is the first time that astronomers have detected a planetary system in a stellar stream of extragalactic origin. This cosmic merger (Milky Way gobbling up the Dwarf Galaxy of the planet_ has brought an extragalactic planet within our reach."
Google

Submission + - How to act like Microsoft? Get sued over Java... 1

Submitted by chaboud
chaboud writes: Like a blast from Microsoft's past, Java's new keepers at Oracle have filed what will probably end up being an unfashionably out-of-style double-breasted lawsuit over Google's use of Java in Android, throwing in all of the usual sweet legal nothings, such as "willful," "injunction," and "damages." I wish someone had told me earlier that the way to make money off of software was to stand around with a law degree.

Submission + - Oracle sues Google for patent infringement (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by bit4byte
bit4byte writes: Various sources are reporting the Oracle is sueing Google for patent infringement on the Andriod paltform.
This mainly resovolves around Java and patents that Oracle America now owns due to the purchance of Sun Microsystems.
Here is a link to the actual complaint:
http://regmedia.co.uk/2010/08/13/oracle_complaint_against_google.pdf

Submission + - Julian Assange in TV interview (svtplay.se)

Submitted by SwedishCoward
SwedishCoward writes: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in an exclusive interview in swedish TV on thursday, meeting some of the recent criticisms. Published on the web was also some extra material from the interview concerning the legal issues of publication in Sweden.

Main interview: http://svtplay.se/v/2105005/rapport/assange_om_kritiken_fran_hjalporganisationerna
Extra material: http://svtplay.se/v/2104836/rapport/wikileaks_julian_assange_i_kvall_i_aktuellt
Book Reviews

Submission + - Book Review: Internet Architecture and Innovation (ammori.org)

Submitted by Drywall
Drywall writes: Barbara van Schewick's new book, "oeInternet Architecture and Innovation," is one of the very few books in the same league as Larry Lessig'(TM)s Code, in 2000, and Yochai Benkler'(TM)s Wealth of Networks, in 2006, in terms of its originality, depth, and importance to Internet policy and other disciplines. I expect the book to affect how people think about the Internet; about the interactions between law and technical architectures in all areas of law; about entrepreneurship in general. I also think her insights on innovation economics, which strike me as far more persuasive than lawyers' usual assumptions, should influence oe"law and economics" thinking for the better.
Google

Google Introduces New Android Features 271

Posted by timothy from the so-advanced-you-don't-even-need-it dept.
adeelarshad82 writes "Google introduced the next generation of interaction with its Android operating system by introducing a set of new features. The most prominent one is the voice-driven actions. Google executives outlined 12 new 'Voice Actions for Android,' including phone calls, reminder e-mails, direction search, and music search. The app is called 'Voice Search,' requires Android 2.2, and is available in the Android Market now. Voice actions can be triggered by clicking the 'microphone' icon on the screen. Saying 'call John Smith at home' will trigger the contacts list and voice dialer, 'find art museums in Amsterdam' would launch a Google Maps application, and 'listen to Ace of Base' will search for music from the artist on Pandora, Last.fm, or another music application. Another improvement worth a mention is 'Chrome to Phone,' allows users to click on a new 'mobile phone' icon to send links, YouTube videos, even directions, to the phone. So far, the features are exclusive to Android phones and US English, although the capabilities will be moved to other languages and other operating systems (including the iPhone) in the future." Add reader CWmike: "JR Raphael takes a first look at Voice Actions for Android, and tells you how to get voice control even if you are not on Froyo."
Image

Drupal 6 Content Administration 50

Posted by samzenpus from the read-all-about-it dept.
Trevor James writes "Finally, here's a Drupal book specifically for Drupal content editors and site managers, those folks responsible for posting new content and editing existing content on a Drupal site. While many of the Packt series of Drupal books focuses on code, development and are written for Drupal developers, this title is for anyone who is dealing with management of Drupal based content and any individuals or teams responsible for the management of Drupal sites on a daily and hourly basis. This book is also perfect for introductory Drupal classes and I will not hesitate to use it in my Drupal 101 classes in the near future." Read on for the rest of Trevor's review.
Social Networks

Buried By The Brigade At Digg 624

Posted by CmdrTaco from the because-they-can dept.
Slashdot regular Bennett Haselton writes in with an essay on a subject we've dealt with internally at Slashdot for years: user abuses of social news... this time at Digg. He starts "Alternet uncovers evidence of a 'bury brigade' coordinating efforts to 'bury' left-leaning stories on Digg. Digg had previously announced that the 'bury' button will be removed from the next version of their site, to prevent these types of abuses, but that won't fix the real underlying issue — you can show mathematically that artificially promoting stories is just as harmful in the long run. Here's a simple fix that would address the real problem."
Earth

Abandon Earth Or Die, Warns Hawking 973

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i'm-going-home dept.
siliconbits writes "According to famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, it's time to free ourselves from Mother Earth. 'I believe that the long-term future of the human race must be in space,' Hawking tells Big Think. 'It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster on planet Earth in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand, or million. The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket until we have spread the load.'"

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